definition of health

Running head : HEALTH

Health

Student Name

Place

November 11 , 2006

Abstract

The article starts with a definition of health by World Health Organization (WHO ) followed by of a couple of health promoting behaviors namely benefits of physical activities (exercise and intake of nutritious diet on health . The also describes a couple of health depriving behaviors such as smoking and sleep deprivation . This is not an exhaustive explanation on the subject but a sincere attempt is made to justify the subject

Health

Definition of Health

According

to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia , health is defined as a state of complete well being i .e , physical , mental , social and not just the absence of disease or any kind of infirmity (qtd . in the Constitution of World Health Organization , WHO ' It is obvious that an individual needs be well in terms of physical , mental and social sense over and above he /she must be disease free to be termed a healthy individual

Health Promoting Behaviors

There are many health promoting behaviors such as taking nutritious diet , involving in physical activity (exercise , intake of fresh air intake of sufficient amounts of pure pollution free water and liquid diet , etc , amongst these let us consider exercising and intake of nutritious foods as health promoting behaviors for our discussion

Health benefits can be observed by even modest amounts of energy expenditure in people of all ages . The health benefits include reduction in risk of disease such as cardiovascular disease , hypertension , type 2 diabetes , and high blood lipid levels . But most importantly the physical activities are required to be planned and structured to achieve optimal benefits . Physical fitness can be enhanced and cardiovascular risk reduced with a reduced possibility of causing musculoskeletal injury by indulging in low- to moderate intensity exercise . How much physical activity should we do

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 issued by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS ) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA ) following are the recommendations for physical activity to maintain good health

30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise on a daily basis would reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood

60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activity on daily basis would help manage body weight and also prevent unhealthy gain of body weight in adulthood

An independent expert report on diet and chronic disease released by World Health Organization (WHO ) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO ) in 2003 , recommended a change in daily nutritional intake and increase in energy expenditure by

Reducing energy-rich foods high in saturated fat and sugar

Cutting the amount of salt in the diet

Increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet

Undertaking moderate-intensity physical activity for at least an hour a...